"Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills: Choosing a Method of Informing"

1. SPEAKING INFORMATIVELY 14 © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved.

2. ] [ What’s To Come » Choosing a Method of Informing » Selecting and Framing the Topic » Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills

3. ] [ Choosing a Method of Informing » Informative speeches can define • Defining means providing the meaning of a word or concept » Identify the denotative meaning » Explain the connotative meaning » Provide the etymology » Give synonyms or antonyms » Define by example » Compare and contrast definitions

4. ] [ Choosing a Method of Informing » Informative speeches can describe • Describing means using words to depict or portray a person, place, object, or experience » Representation » Narration

5. ] [ Choosing a Method of Informing » Informative speeches can explain • Explaining means revealing why something occurred or how something works » Explanations should be clear and concrete » Explanations should be as objective as possible

6. ] [ Choosing a Method of Informing » Informative speeches can demonstrate • Demonstrating means showing how to do something by doing it as it is explained » When demonstrating a process, describe each step as you do it » Be certain you can complete the demonstration within the time allotted

7. ] [ Selecting and Framing the Topic » Select a captivating topic • Issues: the economy • Events: death of Senator Edward Kennedy • People: Lady Gaga • Places: Iceland • Objects: comets • Concepts: racial equality • Processes: how coal becomes diamond • Policies: school segregation

8. ] [ Selecting and Framing the Topic » Relate yourself to your topic • Indicate why you are interested in your topic and qualified to speak about it • Relating yourself to your topic gives you credibility • Relating yourself to your topic helps your listeners care about it

9. ] [ Selecting and Framing the Topic » Relate your topic to your audience • Establish listeners’ vested interest • Explain your topic’s relevance to listeners

10. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Create information hunger • Connect your topic to listeners’ needs » Physical needs » Relational needs » Identity needs » Spiritual needs » Instrumental needs

11. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Be organized • Introduction » Generate interest in your topic » Present your thesis statement » Relate your topic to yourself and your listeners » Preview main points • Body » Present main points, with appropriate transitions » Make sure you have at least three main points and that they are related to each other

12. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Be organized • Conclusion » Reinforce your central idea by reviewing your main points » Create a memorable moment for your audience • Transitions » Use transitions to review the material you’ve presented already » Use transitions to preview material yet to be presented

13. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Make it easy to listen • Keep it short • Keep it simple • Start with what’s familiar • Repeat key points • Make it fun

14. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Involve the audience • Invite direct participation • Ask for volunteers • Poll the audience • Pose a hypothetical situation • Refer to individual listeners • Invite questions

15. ] [ Honing Your Informative Speaking Skills » Be ethical • Use information only from reputable sources • Understand the information you’re reporting • Incorporate verbal footnotes • Be clear about when you’re speculating

16. ] [ For Review » What methods can we use to inform? » In what ways should we frame an informative speech? » Through what strategies can we hone our informative-speaking skills?